Crystal Note woke up with a groan and rolled off the couch in the small sitting room. Even after three nights, she could not get used to sleeping on the worn out piece of furniture that dominated the room, along with a small table in front of it.
She stood up and stretched her back and her legs with a big yawn, then silently headed towards the stairs leading up. The second floor only had two bedrooms, one for the three sisters and one... empty. The beds inside were made and ready "in case they come back." That had been Velvet Heart's words. Neither her older sister Glass Slipper nor Crystal Note had the heart to argue with the filly at that point.
After the three fillies had learned the terrible truth, they've been devastated, rightfully so. When their tears had finally run out, Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart even crying themselves to sleep, Crystal Note offered to stay for the night. She was the logical choice. Rose Quartz would need to return to the palace and figure this whole mess out until the Princess returned and Opal Waves had her family waiting for her at home. However, both mares could see in Crystal Note's eyes that there was more behind her offer than just that.
Glass Slipper neither agreed nor refused, she just let Crystal Note lead her to their bedroom and tuck her in bed with her sisters. The mare asked her if she needed anything, but Glass Slipper's eyes just fell shut, overwhelmed and exhausted and empty.
In the morning, she'd snapped awake and felt confused and sad, woken up by her little sisters who clung on her and cried into her coat. The teenage filly was unable to cope and felt so helpless, all she could do was wrap her hooves around her sisters and cry as well.
Only moments later, the door to the bedroom bolted open and Crystal Note hurried inside. With soft words and much patience, she managed to calm the three fillies at least enough so they'd stop crying their eyes out. Sweetie Tooth clung on the mare's leg when she guided them downstairs and convinced them to try to eat something. The neighbours had learned quickly about the tragedy and they were kind enough to provide meals for the three fillies while they struggled to comprehend what really happened.
Now, three days later, Crystal Note sighed relieved when she didn't hear any crying from upstairs. The fillies had barely done anything else on these first days and barely slept at all. Last night, exhaustion caught up on them and they had all quickly drifted to sleep once in bed. She headed to the small kitchen of the home but kept the door open so she'd hear if anything happened upstairs. Guessing their hunger would most likely return after a night of sleep, she prepared some oatmeal with fruit for the fillies. Either by the scent of breakfast or the sunlight from outside, the fillies soon woke up and climbed downstairs. Crystal Note greeted them with a soft smile and when Sweetie Tooth crossed the room to stand with her, she gently nuzzled the filly's head, which lured a timid smile out of the filly. Out of the three, Sweetie Tooth had opened up quickly to Crystal Note.
Glass Slipper was still mostly wary of the crystal unicorn who had made a way into their days. Of course she was grateful of Crystal Note's help. Although she considered herself mostly independent with thirteen years, taking care of the twins all on her own wasn't something she'd done for more than a couple of hours. Crystal Note tried her best not to let anypony crowd the fillies for the last couple of days, which Glass Slipper highly appreciated. The mare had dealt with concerned neighbours, their teachers from school and even a few members of the guard so far, all while making sure the fillies had the chance to process what happened at their own pace.
When they were alone, Crystal Note had been there to talk with each of them. She listened and held them when they felt like crying and she offered comfort when they needed it. She tried to diffuse some of the concerns Glass Slipper didn't share with her sisters, although she didn't fully succeed in that. Glass Slipper was mature enough to realize what it meant to become orphans. She was worried she wouldn't be considered old enough to become a guardian for Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart, so added to the loss of her parents came the fear of maybe even losing her sisters as well. She knew there was no immediate family left so they'd most like be given to a foster family. To her, it seemed unlikely for any family to take in three fillies together so they might have to split up, if they'd ever find somepony to adopt them in the first place. It didn't matter how often Crystal Note promised her that wouldn't happen, she couldn't stop worrying.
Right now, Crystal Note looked up from the oatmeal she prepared only to be confronted with a defiant glare from Velvet Heart. The filly had set up the table for them and, as the days before, had put down dishes and cutlery on her mom and dad's usual seats as well. On the head of the table, she'd also placed her father's large coffee mug, next to her mother's cup with a floral design. Crystal Note met the filly's gaze with a kind smile and a soft nod, though she didn't hide the sadness from her eyes.
So far, Velvet Heart struggled the most with the presence of somepony else in their home. It had taken Crystal Note angelic patience to convince the filly to do the simplest things like eating her meals or brushing her teeth or even just getting out of her room. At times, Velvet Heart seemed to believe that her parents would return any moment and everything would go back to how it was before. The few times when the truth broke through to her, she'd suffered more than her sisters. Only when she was crying so hard she could barely sit upright, she would accept Crystal Note's calming presence and the comforting hugs she held her in, along with some soft whispered words that did not seem to matter but in the end managed to soothe the worst of the pain, at least for a while. Against all hopes of Crystal Note, these moments only lasted so long before Velvet Heart fell back into denial.
Breakfast passed mostly quiet, which was an improvement to the prior days when at least one of the fillies had started to cry eventually. Crystal Note was happy to see each of them eat two servings of oatmeal, she had been worried about how little the fillies would eat, especially Glass Slipper. Sweetie Tooth munched down her portion eagerly and so did Velvet Heart, even though she kept glancing to the two unused plates at the top of the table.
Glass Slipper mechanically spooned her oatmeal, her thoughts elsewhere at the moment. Crystal Note noticed this, but she didn't mention anything. When Glass Slipper offered to do the dishes with the twins, Crystal Note took the cue and agreed. She walked into the living room and as soon as the door closed behind her, she heard a whispered discussion starting between the fillies.
Fighting back the urge to eavesdrop and make sure they were okay, Crystal Note instead headed to the couch and sat down. From here, she couldn't hear the whispers anymore. She knew it was foolish to believe the three fillies would just open up to her with everything and anything. The best thing she could do was trust them and give them privacy when they needed it. That did not mean she didn't keep her ears angled towards the kitchen, in case she'd hear crying or arguing she'd be there to intervene.
Before any of this happened, there was a knock on the door. Crystal Note sighed and headed to see who was visiting this time. The crystal ponies were a tightly knitted community and the suffering of the fillies called for them to offer help in any way or form. Sadly, neither of the fillies seemed able to accept that help just yet, nor deal with the attention they'd drawn on their family. Crystal Note herself felt nothing but relief that the three sisters could at least accept her own presence around them, she knew she'd be heartbroken if she'd have to leave them at this point, when they were still hurting so much.
As she opened the door, her eyes went wide and a weird mixture of feelings boiled up inside of her, sadness and relief in equal portions. Sadness, because the fillies would be confronted with some hard decisions soon and their bubble from the outside world might be popped, relief about the pony who stood in front of the door, willing and eager to help.
Princess Cadance stepped into the small home after Crystal Note opened the door. She stared at Crystal Note with some worry and the crystal unicorn realized that the princess could tell she'd not gotten too much sleep herself recently. Princess Cadance' eyes brimmed with sympathy and care as she offered a short but firm embrace to her friend, one which Crystal Note eagerly accepted. Her sympathy only glowed brighter when the door to the kitchen opened and Glass Slipper stepped into the living room, Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart shuffling behind her and peeking past her older sister.
The three fillies stared at the princess and when she approached them, Glass Slipper quickly bowed down and kept her head low. Her sisters stared for a moment longer before they did the same, Sweetie Tooth was visibly shivering in the presence of the tall alicorn.
Princess Cadance' gentle smile broke into sadness and she sat in front of the three fillies. Glass Slipper felt a soft touch on her head and glanced up only to find tears shimmering in Princess Cadance' eyes, the eyes of a concerned mother. Without thinking, Glass Slipper lunged forward and buried her muzzle against the pink coat of the princess. At the same time, a pair of hooves wrapped around the filly, both gentle and firm at once as they held her close in a reassuring embrace. The two small fillies hurried to her sister's side and found themselves engulfed by a soft wing each and pulled into Princess Cadance' embrace as well.
Crystal Note watched in awe as the Princess Cadance, the Princess of Love, didn't even need words to instantly make the fillies feel safe and cared for. Princess Cadance leaned down to the fillies and the strands of her ethereal mane flowed around them in the invisible breeze as they gave themselves to tears once more. While their crying before had been desperate and helpless, their tears now had an almost cleansing quality, especially since they felt Princess Cadance shed some tears of pure compassion for them as well. Crystal Note felt a small jab of jealousy as she watched the Princess succeed in what she had failed, but that quickly faded away. Instead, she felt relief that the fillies received some well-deserved support from Princess Cadance. Seeing them cry like this made her heart glow and break at the same time.
Only when she heard some whispers behind her would she turn around. In the still open doorway, Crystal Note saw some familiar faces peeking into the small home. She blinked surprised as four foals gingerly stepped inside now that they've been noticed. Amber Waves, his sister Ocean Waves, Ivory Rose and Flurry Heart took the spots next to Crystal Note and watched silently. Amber Waves and Ivory Rose wore their Cutie Mark Crusader capes as usual, but their usual smiles were replaced by insecurity and worry. Ocean Waves, the youngest of them, looked like she was about to cry herself from just watching. Flurry Heart's eyes filled with tears already and she looked like she had to hold back from throwing herself into the hug as well.
Minutes passed with no sound except the occasional sobbing from one of the sisters and some hushed, gentle words from Princess Cadance. When she finally released the fillies from her embrace, Crystal Note couldn't help but feel exhausted. Glass Slipper rubbed her eyes with her hooves and managed a grateful if timid smile to the princess, while her little sisters saw the other visitors. Flurry Heart was the first to dash forward but the other crusaders quickly followed and took Velvet Heart and Sweetie Tooth into their middle. There was some mumbling, too soft for Crystal Note to understand and after a nod from her mother, Flurry Heart slowly guided the others upstairs to the fillies' room.
Glass Slipper looked after them and was about to stand up and follow, but a hoof on her shoulder kept her from getting up. The teenage filly looked up at Princess Cadance' sad eyes and frowned as she understood. Crystal Note now headed to Glass Slipper's side and gently led her to sit down. Princess Cadance took the seat on the other side of the couch, but Crystal Note remained standing at the filly's side. After a deep breath, Princess Cadance finally started talking
"Glass Slipper, I'm so sorry. Losing somepony is a terrible thing in itself, but losing somepony to such tragedy... Losing your parents.... I'm so very sorry."
Glass Slipper managed a brave nod with her eyes closed and her head hung low. Crystal Note reached up with a hoof and gently rubbed the filly's back to comfort her.
Another deep, ragged breath broke out of Princess Cadance before she continued
"And I'm also sorry to do this, especially so soon after everything happened, but we need to talk about what's going to happen next, Glass Slipper, to you and your little sisters."
At this, Glass Slipper's head jerked back up and she almost glared at the princess, new tears in her eyes but angry ones this time
"I won't let you take away my sisters!"
Princess Cadance met the glare with a calm smile
"I won't. Nopony is going to separate the three of you, you have my word as a princess."
Crystal Note's hoof reached out to give a reassuring squeeze to Glass Slipper's hoof, and only then would the filly let go of her glare with a sigh of relief, even if it didn't last very long under the princess' next words
"However, you need to understand that we have to find a place for you to stay."
"Why can't we just stay here? This is our home!"
"Because, Glass Slipper, there is nopony here to look after you and your sisters."
As soon as the princess had finished her sentence, Glass Slipper just blurted out the first thing on her mind
"I'll look after them!"
Princess Cadance' calm smile faded some as this talk took a direction she had hoped to avoid
"Glass Slipper, you're too young to take care of them and yourself all on your own."
"I'm thirteen!"
Crystal Note couldn't help but smile at the determination the adolescent filly suddenly showed, neither could Princess Cadance
"I know, but aren't you still going to school?"
Glass Slipper's hoof stomped on the cushion of the couch with a soft thud while her other hoof remained in Crystal Note's gentle grip
"I'll quit school. I'll find a job, any job and make sure they have everything they need."
"But what about you, Glass Slipper? Don't you have any dreams of your future, for a time after school?"
Glass Slipper's sudden burst of agitation quickly found an end by those questions. Her mouth opened a couple of times without saying anything, then she sighed and looked down at space in front of her
"Sure, but that's not important. Not anymore. I want to be with my sisters, more than anything else."
Cadance' eyes filled with pride and the Princess of Love gently put a hoof of Glass Slipper's shoulder, her next words brimmed with emotion
"You are a wonderful big sister, Glass Slipper. I can feel how much you love them."
A gentle wing under her chin directed Glass Slipper's eyes back towards the princess
"But it doesn't change the fact that you're still a child yourself, at least to some degree. You should have the opportunity to enjoy your youth, carefree and happy like other fillies and colts. It would be irresponsible of me to make you let go of all of this."
Glass Slipper stared into Princess Cadance' eyes and saw her sad but understanding smile. She sighed deeply, almost defeated, and finally nodded. Princess Cadance gently wrapped her hooves around the filly for a quick squeeze
"I know it's hard, so shortly after it all happened. But trust me, I only want what's best for you and your sisters."
Crystal Note nodded and squeezed Glass Slipper's hoof she was still holding more firmly. She saw new tears forming in the filly's eyes and she felt another stab in her heart. Words came to her mind and without hesitation, she spoke them out loud
"I'll do it."
Two heads turned towards her. While Glass Slipper looked perplexed and honestly confused, Princess Cadance had an almost knowing smile on her face. Crystal Note chose to ignore the latter for now and focused on the distraught teenager instead
"Glass Slipper, if you let me, I promise I'll do everything I can to help you. We'll take care of your sisters together. And whenever you need me, I promise I'll be there to take care of you, too."
Glass Slipper stared at Crystal Note with wide eyes, tears of mixed emotions running down her cheeks. Her mouth was wide open and her lips moved, but in the end, only one word made it out, timid and scared but also hopeful
"Why?"
Crystal Note took the filly's hoof in both of hers with another reassuring squeeze while the princess pulled back a little to give them some space, even though neither of them really noticed. Now, Crystal Note was the one struggling for words at first, but once she started talking they just flowed out of her
"Because, I know what it's like. How it feels to loose somepony so important. I don't want you to go through this all alone. Not you and not your sisters. I know you've only met me a few days ago and I know it's all so soon after. But please, Glass Slipper. I want to help. I can't promise I'll always know the right things to say and I can't promise I'll never make a mistake. But I promise: I'll do whatever I can to be there for you and help you."
Glass Slipper stared and listened attentively to every word the mare said. A small nod and an even smaller smile was all she managed. Crystal Note returned the smile and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything more, they heard a thud coming from upstairs. They all flinched when they heard the loud wailing of a young filly and Glass Slipper immediately jumped on her hooves
"Velvet Heart!"
Crystal Note was already standing, so she reached the stairs before the other two even got off the couch. She rushed upstairs and burst into the filly's bedroom.
Inside, Sweetie Tooth was buried in a tight hug from both Ocean Waves and Ivory Rose. Amber Waves sat on the floor and rubbed his cheek, Flurry Heart had to help him up. Crystal Note barely noticed any of it and just leapt straight for Velvet Heart. The small filly was crying, utterly lost in sadness and anger, even her natural colours had changed into darker shades. At the same time, she was screaming at the top of her voice
"I want my Mommy! I want my Daddy! I want them! I want them now! Now!"
Crystal Note's hooves wrapped around Velvet Heart and she pulled her into a tight embrace. She ignored Velvet Heart failing her hooves at her and squirming to get free and only pressed the small filly closer against herself. Soon, Velvet Heart stopped struggling but her wailing continued. All the shells and walls the filly had built around herself had gone cracked when she'd seen Princess Cadance cry for her. Now they finally broke down, all the lies and excuses she'd been telling herself suddenly lost all meaning and only left her with heart-breaking sadness and mind-shattering loneliness.
For Crystal Note, the room faded away around her. She did not notice Glass Slipper and Princess Cadance enter the room after her. She did not hear the concerned whispers around her. All that mattered right now was the hurt filly in her hooves. She knew words could not console Velvet Heart right now. The filly had hold back far too long already, she desperately needed to get all of it out. However, Crystal Note wouldn't allow the filly to be completely consumed by sadness either.
Like always when Crystal Note found herself confronted with strong emotions, she started to sing. Usually she did this to sort out her own feelings, but this time she sang only for Velvet Heart, Sweetie Tooth and Glass Slipper, with all her heart.
She didn't need any words for this. Some lyrics came to her mind, fragments of her own songs as well as others that had touched her, but none of them seemed enough at this moment. Her voice rose up with Velvet Heart's when the wailing grew even louder and more desperate. The filly's voice soon was raspy and dry from all the screaming and her sadness was reduced sobs and small hiccups that shivered through her small form. Crystal Note didn't loosen her tight hug even for a second, not giving the filly's mind even the chance of thinking the mare might leave her.
After a while, almost an hour in fact although time completely eluded both Crystal Note and Velvet Heart at this point, the wordless song faded and was replaced by a soft melodious hum. Velvet Heart still sniffled but her tears had run dry for now. She was held so close to the mare, she could feel every hum vibrate through her own body. The voice was soft and she felt safe. Velvet Heart didn't return the hug, but she did try to break out of it either. She simply accepted the presence of the mare like one would with a warm blanket in a cold night.
Far too soon, the comforting grip around Velvet Heart loosened up. The filly immediately felt like crying again. She wanted to yell and scream, anything to stop whoever was holding her from leaving her as well, leaving her all alone. Another warm presence pressed in against her and Crystal Note's chest. As soon as Sweetie Tooth had wiggled in close to her sister, the hooves that held Velvet Heart returned and wrapped around them both as firm as before. Another pair of hooves joined in and Velvet Heart heard sniffles from Glass Slipper as the older sister hugged them from the other side. Velvet Heart peeked one eye open and found Sweetie Tooth and herself in the middle of Glass Slipper and Crystal Note.
Crystal Note kept her hooves tightly clung around the small fillies but she leaned down to gently rest her head on Glass Slipper. The teenage filly tucked head under the mare’s chin. Slowly, almost unnoticed even by herself, the mare's humming turned into a soft lullaby. The gentle melody soothed the fillies' wounded hearts and carried them away from all the pain, at least for a little while. None of the fillies noticed the soft glow around Crystal Note's horn or the blankets from the bed floating up and wrapping around the small pile of crystal ponies on the floor. One by one, the sisters drifted off to slumber while Crystal Note guarded their dreams this night.